The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Department of Natural Resources have named a mix of local government officials, citizens and industry officials to a new 15-member silica sand advisory committee.

A state board has extended the comment period on proposed standards for regulating Minnesota’s sand mining industry. The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board on Monday extended the comment period by two weeks, to Jan. 27. Speakers at the first public hearing on the proposed standards this month had asked the board to extend the 30-day public comment period. They said the holidays gave them too little time to prepare detailed written responses.

For the third day this week we go to visit the small town of St. Charles, Minn., the latest Midwestern spot at the center of the silica sand mining debate. A proposal to bring a sand mine to St. Charles – and mine sand to use in fracking operations – is being hotly debated.